The Language of the Culinary Profession

Culinary techniques, cooking methods, ingredients and kitchen utensils are only the means of creating the final product – the dish itself. The custom of naming dishes is very old and was known already in Roman times. Although it is difficult to trace the origin of all terms, many dishes plainly point to countries, regions, cities, and trades, while others are named in honour of historical or other more or less famous person, with emperors, kings, and princes being especially numerous, e.g., Béchamel sauce (after Marquis de Béchamel), Richelieu garnish (after the Maréchal Duc de Richelieu), and Timbale Pompadour (after Marquise de Pampadour).

The professional chef will refer to a classical dish by its French name. French names are also used as recipe titles in professional cookery books or for dishes on the bill of fare. Nowadays they will be normally supplied with an English translation. However, it is the “translation” itself that most clearly reveals to what extent English cuisine has become a tributary of the French. There are no “English” words for omelette, escalope, entrecote, vinaigrette, croquettes, mousse, quenelles, soufflé, pâté, gateau, sorbet – there seems to be no limit to the number of these detachable items, which can be incorporated into English. Not surprisingly, the “translation” often does not look very much different from the original, as the following dinner menu shows: 

In more popular cookery books, offering selections of menus, the English version tends to give a definition or explanation of a dish, rather than a translation. For example:

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